STRANGER THAN FICTION

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIV, Issue 3238, 4 December 1930, Page 7

STRANGER THAN FICTION

SCOTTISH PRINCESS FROB THE SOUTH SEAS.

In a quiet part of Kensington, in London, lives a lady with a famous Scottish name and a pleasant Scots accent, who is the niece of one of the most fascinating of all the ex-queens who are scattered over the globe today.

Many of these former queens and princesses have been in the news lately. Either they have been struggling to get back their lost power or they have been discovered living under assumed names in poverty in the back streets of a foreign capital. But ex-Queen Marau of Tahiti is an exception. She still is the first lady of her land, although she has long given up hope of regaining her throne from the French, who now govern the islands.

Her niece is Mrs. Murray, whose husband, the late Colonel T. D. Murray, D. 5.0., commanded the 4-sth Black Watch during the war. He died some years later as the result of his war service, and Mrs. Murray and the children left their home in Fifeshire and came to live in London.

The story of how a Scottish family and the rulers of a South Sea island became linked is a romantic as anything ever written about these colourful isles in the South Pacific.

Mrs. Murray’s mother was Princess Titau Marama, Chiefess of Haapiti and sister of Queen Marau, whose husband, King Pomare, was the last ruler of Tahiti. “I left Tahiti when I was only seven and I have never been back,” Mrs. Murray told me (writes a “Sunday Chronicle” representative) as we sat in her sitting-room overlooking a quiet Kensington Street. “I am afraid to go back. I have a vision of a beautiful, wonderful, peaceful place. Now lam told it has changed. In the days of the sailing vessels it was safe from tourists. Steamers have brought it too close to America. “Yet in some ways I should like to go back. Not long ago I saw a film which showed Tahiti. It all came back to me —-I could hear the people singing the native himenes. I should like to see the queen and my brothers who are still in Tahiti.

Mrs. Murray paused a moment and thought of the days when her mother was an honoured princess of that romantic kingdom. Then she began to unfold to me the story of how Scotland and Tahiti became linked.

Many years ago a young Scotsman named Brander left his home at Pitgaveny, of which his people were the lairds, to seek his fortune abroad. He settled in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, and with the commercial persistence of his race, began to build up a flourishing business as a South Sea Island trader.

He bought ships to carry his produce to the other world and opened a store which he called Maison Brandere. He was an honoured guest at the royal houses of Tahiti, and when he first saw the young Princess Tetaua, a slim girl of 14 with wavy black hair that tumbled over her shoulders, he was captivated by her. They were married, these two, the son of a Scottish laird and daughter of a South Sea chief and their first son, Alexander, was born before the little princess was 17. They had a big family and Mrs. Brander —as she was usually known after her marriage—also took a great interest in the business. It grew rapidly, and when a new assistantmanager was needed it was naturally to his native country that Mr. Brander sent. The new man was called George Darsie, and he came from Fife.

The business of Brander grew till there was a fleet of Brander vessels sailing all over the southern seas, and the Brander store in Papeete was the most prosperous place of its kind in the Pacific.

When Mr. Brander was still a young man he died. His widow carried on the business for a few years herself with the help of Mr. Darsie. Then they were married, and Mrs. Murray is a child of that union.

She was seven when the family left Tahiti. Mr. Darsie longed to return to his native Scotland, and he wanted his little daughters to have a British education. Mr. Darsie's children of her first husband had all been educated in Scotland and England.

The Darsie family settled down in Fife, but after a few years Mrs. Darsie died —perhaps the climate was unkind after the caressing sun of Tahiti—and lies buried in the little kirk-yard of Anstruther. The three girls grew up, and all married Scotsmen. Mrs. Murray’s two sisters still live in Scotland—Mrs. MacLachlan at Hawick and Mrs. Berwick at Lundin Links, near St. Andrew’s. PRINCE A JUDGE. “I have never lost touch with Tahiti,” Mrs. Murray said. “The son of Queen Marau and King Pomare, my cousin, is now a judge under the French Government, and his sister lives in Paris.” Mrs. Murray has four children. Her elder boy is in a city office and her younger boy is still at his public school. Her elder daughter spends most of her time in Fifeshire, and her other daughter teaches dancing in London. “They would like to see Tahiti because they have heard me talk about it,” said Mrs. Murray. “Some day we may go back on a visit. Who knows?